Help! Recipes!?!
Help! Recipes!?
I got myself into something I can't get out of because I'm a hot headed idiot , and now I need fourth of july recipes and party advice/ideas. Can anyone help me? All I have so far is fireworks. I've never thrown a party the cops didn't come to before and now I need something sophisticated and patriotic.
Answers: Ideas below. Please check it out for yourself.
This is my help from Washington, D.C. Source(s):
http://www.recipezaar.com/menus.php?q=ju... LOL, dang, Im gonna try and help you with some nice recipes, I hope you have better luck with this one!!
TOMATO-ZUCCHINI SALAD WITH
FOURTH-OF-JULY DRESSING
This is a salad to make when you take a basket of extra tomatoes and zucchini to a friend and find that she has a basket of them for you! 2 lg. ripe tomatoes, chopped coarsely 1 sm. sweet onion, cut in rings
Combine vegetables in large glass or crockery bowl. Pour dressing over and toss. Serve immediately.
FOURTH OF JULY DRESSING:
2 tsp. brown rice miso
1/4 c. red wine vinegar
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 sm. clove garlic, crushed in a press
Freshly ground pepper, no salt
Dash of each dry mustard, paprika, oregano
2 tsp. fresh basil
2/3 c. olive oil
Mix vinegar and lemon juice. Add garlic and spices and mix or shake well. Add oil and stir or shake until dressing is well blended.
FOURTH OF JULY CORNISH HENS
4 cornish hens, giblets removed & cleaned
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp. seasoned salt
1/2 c. oil
1 c. fresh lemon juice
1 (12 oz.) bottle Wishbone Italian salad dressing
1/2 c. chopped onions
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. crushed thyme
Night Before: Blend garlic, seasoned salt, oil, lemon juice, dressing, onions, pepper and thyme in large container. Marinate the hens overnight in the refrigerator.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place hens skin side up in a shallow pan. Baste with marinade. Cover with foil and cook 30 minutes. Remove foil and brush with marinade again. Cook, uncovered 20 to 30 minutes more, brushing with marinade twice while cooking. Test for doneness: Drumsticks should be soft and juices should run clear when pierced with a fork.
FOURTH OF JULY LAYER SALAD
1 pkg. cherry gelatin
2 pkgs. lemon gelatin
1 pkg. raspberry gelatin
1 sm. can crushed pineapple
1 (14 1/2 oz.) can blueberries
1/2 pt. sour cream
2 c. milk
3 c. boiling water
Dissolve cherry gelatin in 1 cup boiling water. Cool. Add pineapple, mix and pour into the bottom of a gelatin mold. Dissolve lemon gelatin in 1 cup boiling water. Cool.
Beat together milk and sour cream and pour into lemon mixture. When cherry gelatin is firm and slightly sticky to the touch, gently pour lemon mixture over it No problem. You can do this. Go to the grocery store and get a couple packs of wooden skewers.....some short and some long. You're going to have a kabob party and it will be easy. You can do it all ahead of time and it will look great!
Here's your grocery list:
1 fresh pineapple
a bunch of bananas
lots of large blueberries or black seedless grapes
lots of strawberries
1 brick cream cheese
1 small jar marshmallow fluff
1 4-lb bag of boneless chicken
About 2 lbs of sirloin steak
a large bag of onions
a can of pineapple chunks
a bunch of green, red, and yellow peppers
2 envelopes of Mccormick grill-mates seasoning packets(whichever flavor sounds good to you)
vinegar
oil
large (gallon size) ziplok bags.
two huge loaves of french or italian bread
garlic salt
1 stick of butter per loaf
Mix up marinade for the beef in one ziplok bag according to directions on package. (I like the Montreal Steak seasoning) Cut up the beef in about 1 inch cubes and put into the marinade.
Mix up chicken marinade (try the southwest or the italian herb) and cut up the chicken in chunks. Throw it in the bag.
Get most of the air out of the bags and throw them in the refrigerator.
Cut up all your peppers into approximately 1 or 1-1/2 inch squares. Don't be too picky. Bag em. Cut your onions into eighths. Bag 'em. Put it all in the fridge.
Clean your cutting boards good before you use them for the fruit...or use another one. Now clean and remove the tops from the strawberries. Wash the blueberries or grapes. (or both). Don't do anything to the bananas until you're ready to put the fruit kabobs together.
About 1 and 1/2 hours before everyone gets there, alternate peppers, onions, canned pineapple and chicken or beef onto skewers. Don't use both types of meat on one skewer. Try to use three or four pieces of meat per skewer and just put the vegetable on as you like. They don't have to be in the same order. Just make it look nice and colorful. Lay them all on a cookie sheet and cover them with foil or saran wrap until it's time to cook them.
Wash your hands good then peel and cut each banana into large bite-sized pieces. Use the smaller skewers to make red white and blue fruit kabobs using the grapes (or blueberries), bananas, and strawberries. sticky the pointy ends of the skewers into the pineapple all over.
Make a side dish that is completely make-ahead and everyone loves like hash brown casserole http://allrecipes.com/recipe/hash-brown-... This is EASY and great!
If you still feel like you need something else, do some corn on the cob. Don't overcook it. Serve it with plenty of butter, salt, and pepper.
If you want a great dessert....ask someone else. That's not my specialty.
Have a great party and try to stay out of trouble. The 4th is the easiest party to throw...go all american!
Hotdogs on the grill, potato salad, baked beans...get a wading pool or two and fill them with ice, drinks and a couple of watermellons.
Relax and don't over think it...the 4th of July is supposed to be fun and easy---not fussy! I agree with KEEP IT SIMPLE! Less is more! Pick something simple like Santa Maria Trip Tips (ask your butcher)...They are preseasoned ready to go and take less than an hour on the grill. Pick 1-2 salads that are simple green salad and potatoe salad etc...Tak all the help you can from the store pre-bagged salads with a simple homemade vinaigarette is perfect. Do dinner rolls and condiments so people can make "steak" sandwiches if they want, and you can even do some GRILLED peppers and onions and veggies if you want...It would be a really nice and tasty touch! Sliced watermelon is the perfect all american dessert, OR even better make a TRIFLE! Here is my 4th of July trifle:
1 store bought angel food cake cut into bite sized chunks
1 container cool whip
1 box fresh blueberries
1 box fresh strawberries sliced.
Layer in a pretty glass bowl or footed trifle dish alternating cake, cream, fruit. Finish the top off with a layer of cream and lots of fruit. You can make a pretty design with the strawberries and blueberries on top! EVERYONE LOVES IT AND IT TAKES 10 MINUTES TO MAKE!
Have fun, Have everything done before the party (except the grill and GIVE THAT JOB AWAY...You want to be in charge of the party not worrying about the meat!)...It will be GREAT! I find that a good 4th Party is never complete without a grill. Even Sophisticated parties can use the grill, cook up shrimp, chicken, or steak kabobs, grilled corn on the cob is also wonderful, (you can break them into 1/3 size chunks and put them on a stick for ease of eating!) Punch is nice, and freezing a ring of punch before hand in a jello mold will keep your punch from being diluted from ice, and looks attractive in the bowl. One of my favorite side dishes / finger foods will always be the spinach dip in a rye bread bowl, with the insides surounding the bowl on the platter for dipping. Just remember that a party should be fun, both in the food and the party itself.